Place

Elephant Mountains

The Elephant Mountains are a mountain range in southwestern Cambodia, extending south and southeast from the Cardamom Mountains (ជួរភ្នំក្រវាញ).[1][2]

A forested mountain peak under a cloudy sky, seen across dry fields with sugar palms and a dirt path, framed by green trees
The Elephant Mountains seen from farmland in the Kampot countryside, 2008

Geography

The two ranges form a coastal barrier between the Gulf of Thailand and Tonle Sap (ទន្លេសាប).[2] A narrow coastal plain lies to their west.[1] Bokor National Park covers part of the Elephant Mountains.[3] The range adjoins the Cardamoms toward the northeast.[3]

Elevation figures differ in scope: 500 to 1,000 meters for the range, and 1,079 meters for the high point at Bokor in 2016 and 2020.[1][4][3] The Bokor Palace Hotel stands at 1,062 meters.[4]

Rainfall and forests

Annual rainfall on the Bokor plateau exceeds 5,000 millimeters.[4] For the broader Cardamom and Elephant mountains rainforest ecoregion, the southwestern slopes receive 3,000 to 4,000 millimeters, while Emerald Valley can exceed 5,000.[5] The plateau supports dwarf montane forest and tough-leaved shrubland dominated by Dacrydium elatum.[4] Trees near the escarpment reach only 5 to 7 meters, compared with 15 meters about four kilometers inland near Popokvil Falls.[4]

On the Kirirom plateau, Pinus merkusii forms natural pine forest with grass beneath the trees.[5][6] A 2011 account places one of Cambodia’s two largest elephant populations across the Cardamom and Elephant mountains; the other is in Mondulkiri (មណ្ឌលគិរី).[7]

Protected areas and development

Preah Monivong National Park, also known as Bokor, was established by royal decree on November 1, 1993.[3] Its 140,000 hectares span Kampot (កំពត), Kompong Speu and Preah Sihanouk (ព្រះសីហនុ).[3] The French hill station at Bokor dates to 1922 and stands at 1,071 meters.[3] A summit road at Kirirom was built during the French colonial period.[6]

References 7
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 U.S. Library of Congress (Federal Research Division, Cambodia: A Country Study), Cambodia - Topography (December 1987)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Water Environment Partnership in Asia (Ministry of the Environment of Japan), State of water : Cambodia (undated)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 ASEAN Clearing House Mechanism, Preah Monivong "Bokor" National Park (April 9, 2020)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Cambodian Journal of Natural History, Dacrydium elatum (Podocarpaceae) in the montane cloud forest of Bokor Mountain, Cambodia (2016)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 One Earth, Cardamom Mountains Rainforests (September 23, 2020)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership, Kirirom (2012)
  7. ↑ Gajah (IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group), Current Status of Asian Elephants in Cambodia (2011)


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This page was last edited on 14 November 2026, at 17:25.